


12 Days of Christmas

by enchantedbeauty



Category: Original Work
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff and Humor, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28063779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enchantedbeauty/pseuds/enchantedbeauty
Summary: Inspired by Saraphin and Desna's 12 Days of Christmas.Take any version of the 12 days of Christmas Song and write a one shot for each "day" that goes with the theme of the chosen version.(Probably bouncing between two realms: Earth and Malidusta.) The Eramal are a species of beings that fled to Earth from a realm called Malidusta. There are four races: the adess, the kimizy, the drae, and the faetherm. All Eramal are adess, but adess are not all Eramal. The adess are like sorcerers, the kimizy are like sirens, the drae are like dragons, and the faetherm are like faeries.After over eight hundred years on Earth, the Eramal returned to Malidusta.
Kudos: 1





	1. Partridge in a pear tree

**Author's Note:**

> Kiarros, Malidusta. The capital city

“Ingurni yalix mostai,” Marlowe said softly while looking up at the tree before knocking on the trunk softly. The tree bore fruit shaped like pears but dark green skin with specks of light green. At her knock, the fruit plucked itself and dropped into the basket at her feet.

A bird sitting on one of the branches made a chirping sound. 

“You have a tendency of being places you’re not supposed to be,” Marlowe said, turning to look over her shoulder at the tall man behind her. 

Kalith’s long blue-black hair was pulled into a ponytail which made the sharp planes of his face stand out more. His attractiveness was strange to her. The angles of his face should be too sharp but they weren't. The size of him reminded her of Keary’s teasing that he'd break her. At probably 6’6”, he had over a foot on her. He was bigger than Adrian.

A flush raced across her face at that thought and the implication that she was trying not to consider.

“How did you know it was me?”

The question surprised her and she wondered if he was trying to give her an out from the embarrassment spiral. She pointed at the partridge-like bird perched on a branch overhead. “They like the berries we plant with etkal pears.” 

His dark blue eyes glanced at the scattered bushes. The pale orange berries had drupletes, like a raspberry. She carefully plucked a berry. 

“Bend down and try it.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the fruit and then her face. “I’m good.”

She made the clucking chicken sound at him.

“Really?”

With her best innocent shrug, she said, “If the shoe fits…”

He frowned. 

Recognizing that he didn't understand, she said, “It just means that you’re going to act like a chicken, I’m going to call you a chicken.” 

He bent down and opened his mouth. She bit back, badly, the amusement. They called the fruit cloudberries. Instead of juice, the fruit became a powder similar taste to a tamarind. It only took a moment for his nose to scrunch and his mouth to purse.

“That’s weird. Not exactly bad but weird.”

“I know. It’s why we call them cloudberries.” She giggled. “It’s best in teas. There’s a couple of places that use them.” She pulled out her cellphone to check the time. “We should head back.”

He bent to carry the basket but it started to float. The basket had a strange weave with thick borders at the top and bottom. The sigils sown into the borders glowed faintly.

“I forget about that,” he said.

“A lot of our magic was lost to you.”

He nodded. “But we have our own.”

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. There had been many travelers since they’d settled back in Malidustan, but these were the first that were Eramal and the first to stay in Kiarros. The strangeness and familiarity of them was still strange. 

The handful of previous interactions had elicited interesting reactions from Marlowe’s friends. Most of which led to her turning bright red. She touched the bracelet that she wore as if it was grounding her.


	2. Two Turtledoves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiarros, Malidusta

The apartment smelled like almost burnt caramel. 

Family homes in Malidusta were just that. Family. They were multi-level complexes with suites of bedrooms and bathrooms attached to living rooms but the kitchen and dining room was in a centrally located spot in the complex with a family room. The suites were cut-off from the others making the complexes like apartment buildings owned by one family. The refurbishing had added kitchenettes in the living rooms but the main floor was still meant for everyone. 

The Lisosia house held sisters, Frankie and Joey, their dad, and their cousins, Emery and Theo. Emery and Theo’s mom stayed on Earth while their dad mostly explored around Malidusta. 

“What are you making?” Marlowe asked as she and Indigo sat at the kitchen bar. Despite the additions to their group, it still often ended up being just the three of them curled up watching bad rom-coms and eating too much ice cream.

“Turtles.”

Indigo lifted a tinfoil wrapper. _With Dove chocolate?_ she signed with an arched eyebrow.

“It’s what they had at Falloway.”

Falloway was the small grocery closest to the Lisosia house.

“Oh. And _why_ are you making turtles?”

“I was in a mood.”

Indigo made a soft snorting sound and rolled her eyes.

“And this nothing to do with Dare?” Marlowe asked, glancing in the direction of the stairs that led to the wing of the house where she lived.

 _Naked in your bed,_ Indigo added. 

“How— He is naked but it’s not what you think. We just slept. Nothing more. He just sleeps naked…” Frankie trailed off, looking intently at the treats.

“Uh huh…” Marlowe’s skepticism was echoed on Indigo’s face. 

“We got back during the storm. I made a comment about wanting chocolate. He’s never had chocolate. Or caramel. Anyways, he went out and bought me some.”

“So you’re making turtledoves?” 

Frankie snickered. “How long have you been sitting on that one?”

“You like him,” Marlowe teased, reaching over and snatching a finished one before Frankie could stop her.

The blush on Frankie’s cheeks was rare. It made her blue eyes and freckles stand out. 

“Shut up.”

Ignoring her, Marlowe turned in her seat to Indigo. “You know, just because he’s kinda part of the group, he really should go through the challenge.” 

The grin on Indigo’s face was evil. 

“No.”

“Yup.” Marlowe jumped up, half-bouncing in her skin. “We should get Keary in on this.”

Indigo nodded and jumped up. 

Frankie bunched some of the tin foil into a ball and threw it at their backs as they skidded out the door. Luckily, her aim wasn’t as good as Marlowe’s and the other woman’s laughter became louder.


	3. Three French Hens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida

Emery stopped when she walked into her house and wasn’t greeted by two wolfhounds hoping for goodies. There wasn’t the sound of them whining because they’d managed to lock themselves in a room. Once she was fully in the living room, she could see out to the backyard of her townhouse. The two massive dogs were sprawled out in the sunlight with the sliding glass doors firmly shut. 

She continued into the kitchen, following the smell of discordant cooking. The kitchen looked as if her shelves had imploded. Spice jars were scattered around and she cringed when she realized that a few of her potion ones were mixed in as well. One of her recipe books was on the reading stand and Theo’s attention kept bouncing between a pot and the book. Her brother had pulled his blond hair into a ponytail and was wearing her lavender apron with the lace along the edges.

“What are you doing?” Emery asked. 

Theo jumped, splashing a bit over the rim of the pot. “I’m cooking.”

Emery’s blue eyes glanced between her brother and the mess. “You can’t cook.”

“Yes, I can. I was just…trying something new. Jaques likes French cooking.” 

Emery watched her little brother fidget under her scrutiny, which was a bit funny as he had about three inches on her. She moved next to him to look at the chicken recipe he was working on then back at the food in the pan. 

With a gentle wave of her hand over the pan, she cast, “Orsi tais o mornel.” And turned off the stove when the food turned to soil. It was a simplified version of the spell they used on all waste.

“Why did you do that?”

Emery lifted the small jar of rosemary with a triple circle symbol. “This is potion rosemary and since I’m assuming you didn’t want to kill your beau, I figured this was the best idea.”

Theo sagged.

“Shrimp,” she said, using the nickname from when they were growing up, “just go to Laurent, get take out, and pretend you cooked it like every other person that can’t cook.”

“He’s going to know I didn’t cook it.”

She nodded. “We always do, but it’s better than poisoning him.” She looked around. “Clean up my kitchen before letting the dogs in.” 

He grimaced at the mess he’d made while his older sister left the room.


	4. Four Colly Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida

Rhiannon jolted awake at the chirping sound of Silverfeather, the AI she programed on her cellphone. The sound was distinctly coming from the opposite side of the room so she was fumbling across Henry’s bare chest. 

He grumbled something in Chinese. It was beyond her paltry grasp of the language, but she guessed it was a complaint. She pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

“Back to sleep,” he grumbled, opening an eye.

“Cannae. That was Sil’erfeather.” 

The colly bird was animated like something out of Mary Poppins. The AI was purple instead of Pattertwig’s blue. She’d created the programs to run on her various devices with a bit of inspiration from the old paperclip on Windows. Silverfeather was connected to a program she and a few other cleaners had created to monitor anytime magic was revealed.

It took a few reads of the report for her still half-asleep brain to fully process. Once she had, she scrambled out of bed, half yanking the purple galaxy comforter off of Henry. As she skidded through her house, she pulled her ginger curls into a ponytail. The office chair rolled into the couch under the window when she crashed into it. 

The office was a mixture of geek paraphernalia and children’s book. Her handle was Oz_Pinhead, from the Wizard of Oz, so her friends gifted her memorabilia. One wall was painted with dry-erase paint and covered in math equations.

She was cursing under her breath, her cerulean eyes bouncing between the two screens with code on one side and images on the other, when Henry shuffled into the office. There were established back doors into most social platforms.

“What happened?” 

“Frat wik.” Her accent became thicker when she was distracted and couldn’t be bothered with being conscientious about it.

Henry cursed and she could hear him turning back towards the door. “I’ll go make coffee.”

Not long after, Rhiannon could smell coffee brewing.

“What happened?” he asked when he brought her the sweet, black coffee. 

She sipped the coffee while continuing to work. “Kid got drunk an’ popped his wings.” 

He snorted. 

‘Popping wings’ was how the Eramal described when the faetherm, one of the four races, manifested their wings. Particularly when they did it accidentally. Faetherm wings were similar to a bat’s wings but patterned like a butterfly. 

Walking up behind her, he gently pulled her hair tie out before carefully tying it back again.

“Could’ve been worse. Could’ve been an unbonded drae that had their anirranin triggered,” Henry said, his voice pensive.

The drae, one the four races of Eramal, had an anirranin. The anirranin was their dragon-form. It was connected to their hypothalamus and the fight-or-flight response as a self-defense technique. Sometimes, if threatened, the anirranin would manifest and take over the drae. 

The drae bonded into groups called dramaeks and as well as with a lover. If a drae manifested their anirranin without a bond, they could lose themselves to the anirranin.

“Aye. That’s troo,” Rhiannon said, not paying him any attention. “Damned eejits.” 

He laughed, looking at the pictures she was systematically storing before removing them from the original devices. In her office, she had a couch that he laid down on with his legs over the arm.

“I hate VPNs.”

“No, you don’t,” he said while scrolling on his cellphone.

Her Doric accent was thicker with her distraction as she said, “I div fan they’re maakin my life difficult.”

“I’m going to assume that was English.” 

She looked over her shoulder so that he could see her roll her eyes. 

A moment later, Starsmile, a green bird, chirped. Each one had a unique chirp and she scrambled to minimize the message that Starsmile was alerting her to before Henry noticed.

“That was S.C., wasn’t it?” 

Rhiannon bit back a groan. “Aye.” 

Rhiannon was a koroth or cleaner. The koroth were a specialized field of the guardians. Their job was to conceal any exposure of magic. They also served as dispatch for the kimkel, the other guardians.

S.C. was another koroth. Modern koroth were hackers as the world became more digital. While they could communicate with one another, they couldn’t know the identities of one another. This was because the identities of the the kimkel were kept secret from all except their dispatch. And the kimkel didn’t know who their dispatch was beyond their handle. 

She turned in her chair to look at Henry. His dark eyes appraised her. 

“You added him to Starsmile.” 

It wasn’t a question. She felt her cheeks warm under her freckles. The bane of gingers. Suneyes, the fourth yellow bird, seemed to be mocking her as it was meant for messages from other koroth. 

Henry stood. They were both tall, the two tallest in their dramaek, but she was envious of his grace while she looked like an uncoordinated baby antelope. 

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Be careful,” he half said into her hair before straightening. “I should head home and go into the office.”

After watching him walk out of the office, she dropped her head onto the desk for a second until Pattertwig reminded her to work. 

“Pattertwig, turn on the music.”

The folk metal she listened to while working blared through the speakers.

**SmilingCat** **: We should ban frat parties.**

**SmilingCat** **: Where are you?**

**Oz_Pinhead** **: I was sleeping you ass.**

**SmilingCat** **: I’ve been told I have a nice one.**

She sent him a meme of a cat staring ahead blankly but smiled. 


	5. Five Gold Rings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida

Brielle steered Emery into the jewelry store after stopping her from nearly running into a pole. Her own shopping bags were heavy but she was concerned for her neighbor and didn’t want to call Theo just yet. 

The store was almost cozy. Despite the displays of expensive accessories, the general decor didn’t have the glitz she was expecting. The walls were wood paneled. Carved into the wood of the displays were sigils that she was certain were anti-theft. Potted plants dangled from the ceiling along with farmhouse pendent lights. 

“There aren’t rings,” Brielle murmured, looking around. Instead, there were displays of bracelets that ranged from simplicity to jewel-studded. 

“That’s because Eramal exchange bracelets, not rings. Jeweled rings can affect our magic,” a female voice said as an older woman rose from behind a display. “Emery? What’s wrong?”

Emery thrust out a long velvet box in mechanical movements. “Is this one of yours?”

The woman’s green eyes scrutinized Emery and Brielle wondered how well the two knew each other. The scrutiny wasn’t annoyance at her apparent rudeness but rather concern. 

She took the box and opened it. The bracelet was gold with interlocking figure-eights. At the cross points were points were alternating sapphires and diamonds that were just shy of being too big to be real but Brielle suspected they were. It was, in her opinion, the perfect cross between glitz and Emery’s preference for simplicity.

“Yes, and before you ask, I didn’t sell it to Keir.” 

Brielle let out a soft “oh” before she could stop herself. She’d heard about Keir from both siblings.

“Then who?”

“At the moment, I’m guessing his assistant.” With a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, she said, “Want me to send one of the boys to return it in person?” 

That seemed to knock the mechanical out of Emery and she laughed. “No. I think it’s time for him to remember how scary I can be.” She accepted the box back. “Thanks.”

* * *

Sebastian found Marlowe siting in a tree. At the base of the tree, Oscar snored loudly with his wings moving in his sleep. The averin was still a puppy by his species standards but was the size of a full grown golden retriever. Oscar choosing to be her familiar was what prompted Marlowe’s grandma to pass the farm to her. It wouldn’t be long before Oscar was too big for her family home in town. That didn’t stop others, Marlowe’s aunt in particular, from complaining. 

“Mar,” he said, hoping not to wake Oscar who was still deciding if he like Sebastian.

Marlowe looked down, smiled, and carefully moved to another branch so that she could drop down without waking her familiar.

“Hey.” They moved to a picnic table near the Forrester plot but still close enough that she could see Oscar from the tabletop. Sebastian’s family was currently growing moondrops. The flowers hadn’t blossomed yet so they were protected from the heady fragrance. “How’s your brother?”

“He’s good. Hates the city.”

She laughed. “I would too.”

“He did get something that he thought I should give to you.” He pulled out a foil package and passed it to her.

“A Ring Pop?” Her voice was a mixture of amusement and confusion.

“Well, if I was going to propose to you, it would definitely be with a Ring Pop.”

The confused furrow of her brows deepened. “We don’t propose with rings.” 

He laughed. “Not the point.” 

She turned the package in her hand before her eyes widened and she stilled. “Are you proposing?” 

He laughed again. “Not yet. We’re mates so eventually, but not yet.” 

She bent down to kiss him. “You do know that Mr. Gunther makes candy bracelets, right?”


	6. Six Geese a-Laying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida

The door swung open with a crash against the wall that made Frankie drop the highlighter that she was chewing on. It created a long mark across the page of her nursing textbook. Standing in her doorway was her roommate, Keary. For a moment, Frankie wondered if pure rage was enough to trigger a drae’s anirranin as Keary seemed to be vibrating with malice. Her almond-shaped eyes were narrowed, her normally coiffed curls were a messy halo, and full lips were pursed. 

“You ate them, didn’t you?”

“Ate what?” Frankie asked, trying to reach for the marker that rolled of her bed without scattering her notes. 

“The last of the chocolate stash.”

Frankie froze. Her danger instinct had registered. “No idea—”

“Because all that’s left are the chocolate eggs. You don’t like the chocolate eggs.”

“Neither do—”

“You ate my chocolate.”

Frankie was about to point out that their entire friend group added candy to the jar. Even Marlowe who didn’t live in the complex. Then she cursed.

Pushing past the taller woman, Frankie stormed out the apartment and down the hall to bang on the door. 

Arden opened the door, his eyes wide, as he took in Frankie and Keary disheveled appearances. “What—”

“Where’s the idiot?”

He pointed towards the bedroom door and moved out of the way. 

“Sully,” she yelled before pounding on the door. 

The door swung open and the smell of dirty socks assailed Frankie’s nose. The floor was covered in dirty clothes but the plethora of candles kept the room smelling nice when he had company. The room was brightly lit with his laptop open on the bed.

“What?” he snarled. He had the dark blond, two-day growth of someone that was cramming for a test that they’d forgotten about.

“Where’s the chocolate from the poker game?”

The floor held a poker game but gambled with candy. The rancor evaporated under the nervous bouncing between Frankie and Keary.

“I don’t—”

Frankie pressed a hand over his mouth. “Finish that sentence. I dare you.”

Sullivan was a kimizy and she could hear a hint of his hypnotism in his voice. He nodded, stepped back to the bedside table, and retrieved the remainder of his winnings. 

“I expect another bag by Monday.” 

Keary made an annoyed sound at Frankie giving him the weekend but she was feeling generous. Or rather sympathy. It didn’t matter as she thrust the bag of mostly Reese’s minis into her hand. 

“And clean your damn room.” 

Frankie stalked off to her room to continue studying. 


	7. Seven Swans a-Swimming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida
> 
> (Yes, that's the "This Is My Idea" from The Swan Princess.)

_“I cant believe I’m stuck with her all summer.”_

_“I’ll bet he doesn’t wrestle, hunt, or box.”_

Paesyn paused The Swan Princess. The girls, and Oscar, were sprawled out in the living room of the farmhouse watching the animated movie on the large television that Marlowe’s sister had given her as a hand-me-down.

“Who do you think is saying that?” 

“Definitely Odette,” Marlowe said, scratching behind Oscar’s ears absently. She had a bean bag just for times like this. “See how she has her fists up.”

“Google says it's Derek,” Keary said, looking at her phone. 

“Patriarchal bullshit,” Frankie said. She was sitting sideways in the plush chair she usually claimed with her legs over the arm. Then, she exchanged a mischievous look with Indigo who was sitting in the other chair with her legs tucked underneath her. “Isn’t this basically how you and Bash met?”

Keary and Paesyn gaped before whipping around to look at Marlowe who shrugged. 

“Basically.”

Keary’s tone was incredulous. “How…?”

“Bash’s mom wanted him to marry another dilitrio so they moved here as their branch was too connected.” She was positioned with her back towards them. It took a moment for her to realize they were still staring. “It’s not that weird with the clans.”

“Conceptually, I know that but still…” Paesyn trailed off then shrugged. “You’re the only one that’s clan.”

“Arden is,” Marlowe said.

“Arden’s not here.”

Marlowe puffed out her cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. Just turn the movie back on.”

Paesyn grabbed a candy from the bowl on the coffee table and threw it at her before unpausing the movie. It was a testament to how often that happened that the candy was individually wrapped instead of loose. 


	8. Eight Maids a-Milking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida

Ms. Robin pretended not to be paying attention to Emery sitting on a stool at the end of the counter. They were in the community center’s kitchen with the sounds of the after school programs in the background. The tablet in front of Emery had gone to sleep as she spaced.

The timer dinged while she was still preparing the next sheet of chocolate chip cookies. With a wave of her hand, the door to the oven opened then the cookie sheet floated out and settled onto a cooling rack. The sounds of a few children recognizing that a batch of cookies were done hadn’t drawn Emery’s attention yet.

She brought over a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. “All right, Emery. What’s going on?”

Emery looked at the plate the older woman was carefully holding out of her reach. “Are you holding the cookies hostage?”

“Yes.” She gave Emery one of her patented ‘I’m expecting an answer’ looks that she mastered on Emery and Malakai when they were teenagers. 

“Mom’s going to be in town.”

“That’s—”

“So is Dad.”

“Oh… Have you called Gail?”

Emery laughed at the exaggeration and Ms. Robin set the cookies down. Her parents didn’t get along. They were mated but a poor match and a prime example why it was a good thing the younger generations were forgoing the need to marry their mates. 

“I don’t think it’ll be that bad. Gods, I hope it won’t be that bad. It’ll be my engagement party all over again.”

With how close Emery and Keir were, it had been her parents’ intention not to let her know that it was Keir’s father’s fault that the family had been disowned by her aunt. However, at Emery and Keir’s engagement party, Martina became too intoxicated and let the secret slip. More had unfolded after that leading to her breaking the engagement.

“Are they coming for the gallery?”

Emery nodded. Her brother had a few photographs being displayed in a new gallery opening in nearby Tampa. 

“He’s stoked so I just hope they can keep their heads out of their asses.” 

Ms. Robin laughed and nodded as she moved cookies to a tray to take out to the kids. “Eat your cookies.”

“Thanks,” she said, dipping the cookie into milk.


	9. Nine Pipers Piping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida

**Part 1**

Aerilynn made a whining sound as she watched Mekia and Dylan practice while laying on a wooden bench too narrow to lay on comfortably. Mekia was warming up while Dylan was practicing on the honelm, a pipe instrument whose particular sound came from the wood it was made from. 

They were in a dance studio that Mekia had a standing reservation for each Saturday. It had the best acoustics so Dylan had decided to join her. The owner also taught music lessons there from time to time.

“Why are my best friends women with work ethics?” she whined.

“Why don’t you go to Red’s and work on your bike?” Dylan said. 

Aerilynn had bought a broken down bike to rebuild at Rhiannon’s house as she was the only one with a garage. 

“The parts I ordered aren’t in yet.”

“Don’t you have finals?” Mekia asked as she came up during her sun salutation. 

“Don’t you?”

Mekia rolled her dark eyes. “Yes, but I’m not the one bitching.”

The two women stopped when Dylan lifted the flute to her lips and started playing. Most of the music for Athilosti, the upcoming holiday that Dylan was practicing for, was upbeat and meant for fast dancing. The song she was practicing was the Ballad of Lost Days, the only one that pipe instruments took the lead. It started slow but would have drums that would pick up speed before the rest of the players did. The drums were the heart, picking up speed with excitement.

While the song could go on longer with the climax repeating depending on the conductor, Dylan stopped after one round of the climax.

“I’m only playing for the Ballad and maybe some others if I’m in the mood to. None of the other honelm players are single this year.”

“Oh…” Mekia and Aerilynn both murmured.

The Ballad of Lost Days was a waltz meant for couples. It was a reminder that days could be fleeting. It represented everything that Emlosti and Athilon Losti meant. Both were celebrated on the longest day of the year. Emlosti was dedicated to the god of endings, Emmiall, and started at sunset the day before to remember those that had passed that year. Athilon Losti, Athilosti as it was commonly called, was a night of hope and light. It officially didn’t start until the bonfire was lit on the longest night of the year.

Mekia turned to Aerilynn. “Either practice or go somewhere and do homework.”


	10. Ten Drummers Drumming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida  
> (This rambles...)

**Part 2**

Marlowe twirled in time with the drums, her skirt twirling around her as she danced along the interweaving men and women. The drums kept the dance but when the guitar joined in, it meant that it was time to break off with a partner until the guitar stopped again.

A hand caught hers and she laughed when she looked up into pale green eyes. Unlike her, the man wasn’t out of breath and the faint sheen of sweat was Florida and bonfires.

“I thought you didn’t dance,” she said as the two moved in a circle with their hands clasped.

“That would be Adrian,” Jonah said with a teasing smile that she knew he used to get his way and she wasn’t as immune as she’d like. “I didn’t see you earlier.” 

She scrunched her nose at him. “I know. I’m sorry.”

When the guitar stopped, he grabbed her hand before she could rejoin the line. Clipped to the hem of his shirt was a hair clip with a yellow flower on it that he then twisted a lock of hair and clipped into place.

“A flower?” Marlowe asked.

“Yeah. It suits you.”

Gifts given on Athilost were usually small things that would have no value to anyone but the people giving and receiving. 

“I made cupcakes. You and Adrian will have to come over later.” 

Baked goods and games were common gifts. 

“Are they edible?”

She puffed out her cheeks and he pressed a kiss to her temple. 

“Go dance.”

She let out the air then grinned before dancing off. 

* * *

Henry sat at one of the drum circles with Ophelia, Daniel’s little sister, next to him. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she beat on the drum. Much of her expressions were similar to her brother’s so she was easy for him to read.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” Henry asked. 

Her cheeks turned pink. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Liar.” He stood up from the stool and held out a hand. “C’mon.” 

Her cheeks darkened further but she took his hand. 

* * *

“How are you such a good drummer?” Mekia asked Rhiannon as she played. 

Rhiannon snorted. “I listen ta metal and rock. What makes ye think that I didn’ go through a drummer phase?”


	11. Eleven Ladies Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chadilsa, Florida

**Part 3**

“You need more girl friends,” Joey said to Emery as she danced opposite her cousin. 

Emery sighed and looked around. The handful of women there that she’d call a friend were dancing with their significant others. “Yeah, I know. Or more importantly, more girl friends that are single.”

“I’m not single,” Joey pointed out. 

Her pretty cousin was dressed casually compared to most of the people there. Even Emery wore a dress with leggings. However, Keane, her cousin’s mate, was stationed overseas. Joey didn’t care for dressing up unless she had a reason. Dancing around bonfires without Keane was not a good enough reason. 

“Yeah, but Keane’s not here.”

Joey pursed her lips for moment, but the knowledge that he’d be back in time for Physristi, the festival in the spring, was what she cared about. 

“You could date. Lachlan is single.”

Emery shook her head as she slid away from her in time with everyone else. “He and Nick got back together.”

“Really? I always miss the good gossip.”

“Besides, we’re already cousins. Do we really need to be in-laws too?”

“You’d be Kai’s sister-in-law.”

“Because our dynamic isn’t already strange enough.”

Lachlan was the oldest of the three Wiley boys by ten minutes. Torryn Wiley was married to Emery’s mate, Malakai. And Keane was mated to Joey. 

When the steps drew them back together, Joey grabbed Emery’s shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her into a broad chest and hands that steadied her. Her blue eyes trailed up into familiar brown eyes. 

Behind her, Joey clapped her hands together. “Hey, Averett. Dance with Em please. Thank you.” Her voice took on a sing-song quality as it disappeared into the music.

“Remind me to kill her.”

Averett’s chuckle reverberated. “I’ll give you a moment while you schedule it in your planner.”

Emery curled her lip and glared as she stepped back and held up her hand. “Smartass.” 

“I try.”

* * *

“I think she’s checking you out,” Marlowe said as she danced opposite Paesyn. 

This particular dance was only for girls. There were dance steps but much of it was similar to a hand clap game. It was disappointing that Frankie was playing a guitar with the band instead of dancing. Every year, she’d come up with new bawdy lyrics similar to “Miss Suzy had a steamboat” that usually left Indigo and her gasping through their laughter with dirty looks from anyone watching.

“Nope,” Paesyn said, refusing to even look.

“Why?” 

“Don’t care.” 

Next to Marlowe and Paesyn was Keary and Indigo. 

Keary snorted. “Sure… Until you’re tipsy.” 

“Just dance,” Paesyn said, but glanced over her shoulder at the other pair.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 4**

Sebastian picked up the beer he’d been drinking before Sully dared him to leap over the fire. His friendship with Sully and Arden was something they kept from the girls, knowing that Sebastian was persona non grata. Strangely, more by Frankie than by Marlowe.

“Feel better?” Arden asked.

Leaping over the bonfire was meant to burn away the pains of the year and starting fresh. 

“Not at all.” Sebastian stuck his hand into his pocket and felt the crinkling of the plastic-wrapped candy bracelet. 

He wasn’t certain if he meant the bracelet the way it should be meant. The way that Marlowe would take it. If he told Indigo, she’d probably tell him that he did mean it in a promise kind of way because he got upset at watching Jonah give her his gift. Both Frankie and Indigo would probably take the candy and toss it. That’s how he ended up ranting to Sully and Arden.

“That’s because giving her that bracelet is a dick move and you know it,” Sully said. His blue eyes weren’t on the two men but two women who had painted glowing sigils around their bare midriff to keep them from getting cold. The way they were huddling up to the fire said the magic was fading. 

“It wasn’t—”

“It was,” Arden said, interrupting Sebastian. “Especially knowing that she has a boyfriend. And whatever the whole thing with the other two guys is.” 

* * *

Rhiannon laughed at Jules’ uncoordinated landing as she leaped over the bonfire and was caught by Daniel. The jumping over the bonfire was her favorite part of the night. All around the beach were bonfires of various sizes for people to work their way up to the large one. 

“Why do I let you talk me into things like that?” Jules groused.

“Cause otherwise your life would be boring,” Rhiannon answered with a smirk. 

She moved out of Henry’s arms as Aerilynn leaped over the fire as well and Henry caught her. The run to gain momentum often left people landing unbalanced when they got to the other side. 

“I should do that again,” Aerilynn said with a grin. 

“‘At defeats the purpose,” Rhiannon said as she headed to their beach chairs. 

Mekia leaped over and landed so gracefully that it was like she a featherm with her wings out instead of drae.

“How do you compensate for the sand?” Jules asked. 

“Years of running on the beach,” the former ballerina said before playfully bowing. “When do you fly out?”

“I’ morn. Want me ta try findin’ ye a unicorn?” Rhiannon asked. It was an old joke since Dylan found out Scotland’s national animal was a unicorn. “Spikin of, far’s Dylan?” 

“Playing the honelm in the square,” Mekia said, dropping in a chair. “Nah. Where would we put it?”

“Granraili Paulson’s property has room for it,” Henry said. Before sitting, he looked back at Daniel who was staying near the bonfires in case anyone landed in the fire and needed healing. 

There was laughter as the women imagined the stuffy granraili allowing the unicorn regardless of his affection towards Dylan. 

Rhiannon took a sip of her beer. "Ye didna leap," she said, looking at Henry. "Ga be a fire dragon." 

He reached over and gently pulled on a curl, an affectionate chastisement. "Okay, but slow down."

She clicked the barbell against her teeth but set the glass bottle in the sand before making a shooing motion at him.


End file.
